The Music of Heartbreak, the Joy of Song
by jakxkeiraaddict
Summary: A collection of very short Jak and Daxter and/or JakxKeira drabbles based off of a music challenge. Takes place at various times within the original trilogy and Jak X. Complete.
1. Never Grow Up

**Jak and Daxter (c) Naughty Dog.**

**JKA: Well, I was going to wait a little while to post this, since I just put up my Daxter/Tess oneshot about an hour ago, but I had it done, so I figured why not. ^_^ This is going to be a collection of very short drabbles based off of a music challenge I found in the Harry Potter section on here, because I just couldn't resist giving it a try. I can tell you that all of these will mention JakxKeira in some way, if not completely center around those two. The rules of the challenge are as follows:**

_1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.  
>2. Turn on your music player and put it on randomshuffle.  
>3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!<br>4. Do ten of these, then post them._

**Oh, and just as a heads-up, I will be updating this every weekend with a new drabble until I reach ten, owing to the fact that most of these barely skim three hundred words. So, that's what'll be happening for a while. And after this rather lengthy author's note, I give you drabble #1! :D Read, review, and enjoy, fellow Jak-lovers~**

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><p><strong><span>Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift<span>**

He hung his head, unable to watch the young boy disappear into the portal that would lead him to a better life. Before that moment, he'd felt no connection to the Kid, no particular urge to protect or advise him.

That was before he knew the truth.

There was nothing he could do to change the little guy's destiny, give him a future to look forward to. It had always been written in the hands of fate that someday that innocent child would grow up to be the hardened, bitter man that he was today.

Despite knowing that, though, Jak couldn't help but wish things could have been different. That poor boy, with his sweet smiles and bright blue eyes, deserved better than what he was doomed to endure, to suffer.

A gentle touch to his forearm brought Jak out of the swirling darkness of his thoughts. He glanced to his right, his features softening a bit when he was met with a familiar, glowing emerald gaze.

"He'll be ok," Keira assured him quietly, entwining her fingers with his and casting a rather sad look at the broken pieces of what had once been the Rift Ring.

"I know," Jak muttered, exhaling in a long, heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging with the movement. "For now, anyway."


	2. The Man Who Can't Be Moved

**JKA: Wellll, I was gonna wait until this weekend to update this, but then I decided that I should put it up today, because today is a special day~ And so, this is dedicated to the AMAZING darkecomuse because not only does she beyond deserve it, but it's her birthday. ^_^ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEM! Leia, Dark Jak and I love you to pieces. :D**

**And to everyone else, usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, enjoy, you know how it is. :)**

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><p><strong>The Man Who Can't Be Moved – The Script<strong>

No one understood what he was there for. The sidelong stares, the whispered rumors didn't seem to bother him. Night and day, he waited — for what, not one soul could guess. Only the expression that was constantly present on his face gave any indication to what was going on within the strange, silent man. It was a look of utmost sorrow, an emotion that seemed to take physical shape in the form of swirls of ebony in his ocean-blue irises.

Jak was aware of the citizens gossiping about him, could feel their eyes watching him as they passed. None of this mattered to him. He remained rooted to the spot he'd been residing in for how long, even he didn't know — always hoping, always wondering.

She still hadn't spoken to him since he'd returned to Haven after defeating Erol and the Dark Makers. The only time he'd even _seen_ her in the weeks following the event had been in the Spargus arena, when he'd turned down the opportunity to explore the universe with the Precursors. After that, she'd disappeared, become more of a distant memory than an actual sentient being.

Of course, he knew _why_ she'd been avoiding him for so long — anyone who could have been considered close friends with either Jak or Ashelin knew that.

So it was for that reason Jak had staked out his own private corner on the edge of the port strip, and had completely refused to move after doing so. Knowing Keira like he did, looking out over the harbor was one of her favorite pastimes when she had nowhere to go and nobody to see, because it reminded her of Sandover. With her garage having been destroyed in the most recent Metal Head war, she was bound to show up there sooner or later.

Jak needed to talk to her desperately, patch things up somehow. And so he simply waited, too fearful of going to search for her, but just as afraid that she would never come.


	3. Miracle

**JKA: Yeah, not much to say about this one really, other than usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, you all know the drill. :) Oh, and since Marn's been the only one kind enough to review so far, I won't be posting any more of these until I get some more reviewers, and I _know_ there are other people keeping an eye on these drabbles. You know who you are. :P**

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><p><strong><span>Miracle - Cascada<span>**

Keira threw her wrench down with a scream of frustration, flinching as the resulting _clang_ rebounded off the inside of her skull. She placed her hands on the rim of the car she'd been tinkering with, leaning against it and squeezing her eyelids shut.

She just didn't understand it. Throughout the entire racing championship, she'd been practically throwing herself at Jak, praying that he'd somehow get the hint and return her advances. After spending years of beating around the bush when it came to their relationship, — not to mention a certain kiss several months ago that was a touchy subject for all involved — she had finally decided to take initiative, and he was utterly _oblivious_.

As usual.

Why couldn't he just give her a _chance_? Sure, he'd been paying much more attention to her over the past few weeks than he had throughout the entire second Metal Head war, but beyond that, she may as well have been melded into the wall. She didn't know if he just wasn't interested in her, or simply being an idiot, but whatever it was, she was determined to fix the problem.

Because despite everything they'd been through in the past, everything they'd suffered, she still loved him. And she was hell-bent on making him realize it, even if it meant that she had to act so completely _un-Keira-ish_ towards him that she made herself sick just thinking about it.

_Sweet Precursors, what I wouldn't give for a miracle._


	4. Rolling in the Deep

**JKA: Hey everyone! Well, I've decided to give you guys an early update, since my weekend is going to be jam-packed and I wasn't sure if I'd have time to do it within the next few days. So, I give you to music drabble numero 4! Complete with a very pissed-off Keira. XD Thanks to Marn for reviewing, as always, and the rest of you, WHERE ARE YOU? I know you're out there. You can't all have dropped off the face of the earth, and that INCLUDES you, Mika! Anyway, usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, & enjoy~**

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><p><strong><span>Rolling in the Deep - Adele<span>**

_I can't believe he'd do this to me. What kind of fool does he take me for?_

Her hands curled into fists at her sides, nails digging into palms so hard they drew blood. She pounded one of those fists into the nearest wall, anger searing its way through her veins with the force of a volcanic eruption.

He'd betrayed her. Gone behind her back and _kissed_ some redheaded _bitch_ when she'd been dreaming of doing the same thing for _years_. She'd given him her heart, and he'd cared for it, allowed her to think that they might have something between them. And in the blink of an eye, he turned around and stomped on it as if it were worthless.

They could have had everything; a life, a future, _each other_. But no, Jak didn't want any of that. If he was willing to go make-out with the first hot woman he happened to lay eyes on, then clearly Keira meant nothing to him.

He'd left her behind to pick up the pieces of a broken relationship alone, wounded and abandoned. She could already feel the scars forming in her chest, a sharp pain that would fade with time but never truly vanish.

Well, if she was condemned to an existence spent in fury and despair over what could have been, then Keira would make sure Jak got what he deserved. She knew that eventually, be it within the next few hours or over the course of decades, he'd realize just how much he'd lost and come crawling back to her.

And then it'd be _her_ turn to break his heart.


	5. You Found Me

**JKA: Gah, I'm so sorry for the late update, guys! I'd planned on having this one up last weekend, but my schedule got the better of me, and then I managed to catch whatever illness my dad brought home, so I wasn't feeling up to posting this. But it's here now! And I'll be putting up the next one right after to make up for my tardiness. :D Anyway, usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, and enjoy~**

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><p><strong><span>You Found Me - The Fray<span>**

Rage had become a regular emotion in Jak's day-to-day life. Bloodlust, sadness, pain, all were almost unsettlingly familiar to him. Every hour of the reality he called existing was consumed in darkness, in hatred so powerful that he scarcely thought of anything else.

In truth, he was almost lost in the world, isolated from those around him. None of them understood — could even begin to imagine the things he'd gone through. They knew of happiness and joy, and they took it for granted; two concepts that Jak had all-but-forgotten. Laughter, too, was as foreign to him as knowing when to simply stop talking was to Daxter.

Some small part of him believed that he'd once experienced such emotions for himself, but nowadays, he couldn't even remember when the last time he'd truly smiled had been. He felt trapped in his own anger, as if he were spiraling into an endless void of self-destruction with no hope of returning to the light.

Many times when he'd been locked in that _damned_ prison cell, back in the fortress he'd been forced to call home for far too long, he'd prayed to the Precursors — to _anyone_ — that things would turn out for the better. No one had ever answered his pleas, and eventually, he merely stopped having faith in anyone's abilities but his own.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Everything he'd ever loved, ever held dear, had been ripped away from him, and there was no way things could ever return to the way they'd once been.

But when that tattered curtain was pulled aside — fanning the smell of oil and engine grease in his face — to reveal a beaming Keira beyond the fabric, only one thought flashed through Jak's mind, banishing all his doubts and melting his anger like fog in the sunlight.

_I'm home._


	6. Boats & Birds

**JKA: And here's drabble #6, as promised. :D This one was a bit difficult, I will admit, especially because this song is the shortest out of the ten and therefore provides less thinking time. r_r But I'm relatively happy with how it turned out, so hopefully that counts for something. ^^; Usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, you know the drill~**

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><p><strong><span>Boats &amp; Birds - Gregory &amp; the Hawk<span>**

Fingers curled around the edges of a crinkled picture, the parchment having been folded and unfolded so many times that it was amazing the image was still discernible. A young boy of fifteen grinned up at the photo's holder, green-tinted hair defying gravity as it had always done, cerulean gaze sparkling. Beside him stood a slightly shorter, sapphire-haired girl, her face frozen in laughter as the boy dragged her into the view of the camera.

A solitary tear escaped from the corner of Keira's eye as she examined the picture, a hollow ache in her chest. She wiped the moisture away with the back of her hand, reminiscing of the day the snapshot had been taken — mere hours before she'd been separated from Jak.

It seemed a lifetime ago now. Those stolen minutes between constructing the Rift Rider and exploring the beach. The hidden, awkward flirting whenever they had a rare moment to themselves. He'd been the light in her life, the person she could go to whenever she just needed someone to be there for her; a shoulder to cry on; a best friend.

All of that was gone, the pair of them torn apart by a stroke of fate. And there was nothing left of him for Keira to hold onto.

Nothing, apart from the photo in her hands, her memories that seemed to grow fainter with each passing day, and the empty space in her heart where Jak had once been.


	7. Fallin' For You

**JKA: Hey y'all! I'm back again, and actually on time this weekend. :D Irrelavent topic, but can you believe it's the first day of October already? Yay for autumn!**

**Anywho, this one... not sure what to think about it, really. Much more lighthearted than the others, but perhaps a little... cheesy? Meh, that's up to you guys, I suppose. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless. ^_^ Usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, love the innocent teenage romance~**

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><p><strong><span>Fallin' For You - Colbie Caillat<span>**

Keira's pulse hammered against her ribcage as Jak's cerulean gaze bored into hers, the world around her tumbling into an endless sea of blue. Her breathing grew shallower as he began to lean in towards her, butterflies the size of lurker sharks battering the walls of her stomach.

Of course, she'd known for quite some time how she felt about the mute boy standing in front of her. There was no denying the scarlet blush that dusted her cheeks whenever his arm brushed hers, or how she secretly admired the way his lithe muscles moved when he drove her prototype A-Grav.

She wasn't sure just when it had happened, but somehow, she'd fallen in love with her closest friend — as cliché as it sounded.

And at the moment, that very same friend was less than a foot away from her, so close that she could see every little detail of those radiant eyes. The threat of Gol and Maia no longer hung over their heads, the universe was safe; there was nothing to put their relationship status on the backburner anymore.

Just a few more inches between them. Her eyelids slid shut of their own accord, her body stretching upwards to meet him halfway —

"Whoa! Put it on ice, big guy!"

Curse that scrawny rat.


	8. What About Now

**JKA: Hey everyone! Thanks fer reviews and such (think I've been forgetting to say that for the majority of these drabbles...). Early - or I guess you could call it late, considering the time - update tonight as my weekend is completely jam-packed, so I figured it'd be better to update this for you guys while I still have the time. Usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, enjoy, you know how it goes~**

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><p><strong><span>What About Now - Daughtry<span>**

"And _you're _a good judge of character?"

The words cut him to the core, as if their letters have jagged edges, digging deep into his heart. He meets her fiery glare evenly, barely resisting the urge to flinch under the force of her anger.

_What happened to us, Keir?_

She scowls at the indifference of his expression, biting her lip in a desperate attempt to refrain from dissolving into tears. Wisps of the deepest black are evident in his stormy ocean eyes, the only physical indication of the rage burning behind his calm façade — of the monster within.

_What's changed you, Jak?_

"Besides, the Jak _I_ knew wouldn't be working for a guy like Krew!"

Another blow, another crack snaking its way into his chest. She's right, and he knows it. He's _not_ the same Jak he was all those years ago. The innocent boy that had once been him had died at Praxis' hand.

If he could make things the way they'd used to be, then he would, if only for her. He'd give anything to return to the old days, the time long before his and Keira's relationship had begun to collapse around them.

_Do you even care about me anymore?_

"I need Krew's connections to fight the Baron!"

She winces, recovering quickly so as not to let him notice. Revenge was the most important thing in his life now, that much was obvious. Anything they'd ever had, or ever could have had, was gone, destroyed by the poison of his hatred.

_I don't want to lose you._

"Just don't come crying to me when the walls fall down!"

He turns his back on her, unable to witness the hurt that flashes in her emerald gaze in response to his words. Without looking back, he storms out of the garage, chin held high to mask the agony tearing him apart from the inside.

_Forgive me, Keira._

Not a sound escapes her lips as she watches him leave, rooted to the ground, unable to think of anything to say that will make him come back. He'd been her one hope in this future of uncertainty and war, the single ray of sunshine in an endless night. Now her glimmer of light had burnt out, and there was nothing left for her to hold onto.

_But I still love you._


	9. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

**JKA: Umm... Hi everyone. ^^; Well, I'd say this is long overdue. Heh. I'd like to say I had a good reason for taking so long to update but honestly... I just kept forgetting. *scuffs toe in dirt nervously***

**Anywho, before anyone decides to come after me for my lateness, I present to you drabble #9! Honestly, I'm not particularly happy with this one. For some reason the more upbeat ones just bother me. :P Should that say something about me? Oh well, I digress, and usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, and enjoy~**

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><p><strong><span>Somewhere Over the RainbowWhat a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole  
><strong>

A canopy of leaves swayed lazily overhead, outlined by a vast expanse of clear azure sky. Two figures lay sprawled in the middle of a grassy clearing, both watching a lonely cloud scuttle past, feeling more at ease than they had in years.

The time of hostilities and fear was at an end, and the citizens of Haven were picking up the pieces of their broken lives. Mass devastation remained in the aftermath of daily Metal Head and Death-bot attacks, but things were gradually returning to normal, and the future looked just a bit brighter.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Keira asked complacently, the first speech to break the peaceful hush that had fallen over the duo since entering Haven Forest.

"Sandover?" Jak guessed, fairly confident in his answer as he'd been reminiscing of the exact same thing. He folded his hands behind his head, eyelids falling to half-mast as contentment lapped at him like a gentle ocean wave.

"Yeah," Keira sighed wistfully, glancing over at him. She allowed herself to admire his features for a moment, outlined in soft golden rays filtering through the treetops. "Everything seemed so much simpler back then, don't you think?"

"Sure did," Jak agreed pensively, turning his head so that his gaze met hers. A jolt traveled straight to his heart the instant he looked into those emerald orbs. "Do you ever wish we could go back there?"

"Yes and no," Keira replied, rolling over onto her side and propping her cheek in her palm. "I mean, I miss how beautiful it was there and everything, but life isn't so bad here — especially now that the war's over. We've got our friends, a place we can call home…"

"And each other," Jak finished for her, a crooked smile playing at the corner of his lips. He shifted so that his position mirrored hers, extending his free hand in order to twine their fingers together.

"That, too," Keira giggled, lifting her attention to the sky above once more, picturing herself in a distant village several hundred years ago. Even after all the time she'd spent living in the future, she still missed the place she grew up in — her true home, the place she felt she really belonged.

But she knew in her heart that Sandover would always be a part of her, and so would Jak. As long as she had her memories to hold onto, and her best friend standing by her, life was good.


	10. I Do

**JKA: Aaand here's the tenth and final chapter for you all. :D Another one I'm not particularly fond of, to be honest, but I suppose it was a good song to round off the drabbles with. Usual disclaimers apply. Read, review, and I'll be seeing you all around in the near future. JKA, over and out~**

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><p><strong><span>I Do - Colbie Caillat<span>**

Keira had never been much of a romantic. She'd always preferred to spend her time tinkering with machines and zoomer engines, a wrench in her hand and grease splattered in various odd places. Outlandish flights of fancy held no interest for her; she didn't need a man to swoop in and sweep her off her feet. There was nothing more she could have wanted out of life than the satisfaction of completing a new invention, always dreaming of the next mechanical marvel she'd create rather than candlelit dinners and bouquets of roses.

That was before she'd met Jak.

She could still remember the day she'd first spotted him, lounging by the fountain in the Sandover village square and listening with good-natured exasperation to one of Daxter's long-winded rants. They had been at the age when boys and girls could easily be friends and think nothing more of it, because they were simply too young to understand — or care about — such concepts. But even so, Keira had known immediately that there was something about Jak that she liked, and had wasted no time in introducing herself to him.

Nowadays, whenever she pictured that fateful day that had earned her a best friend for life, she wondered how she couldn't have seen the future coming, even as a tender youth. It seemed inevitable to her now that she'd been destined to fall in love with the shy mute that had been her closest childhood companion.

The two of them had played together as kids, matured together, and been to hell and back together. They'd experienced the defeats of Dark Sages, a ruthless baron, a schizophrenic cyborg, and a twisted race of Dark Precursors. They'd survived being separated, torn apart by anger and fear, poisoned, and nearly blown to bits several times over.

Somewhere in the course of their chaotic lives, Keira had realized just how much Jak meant to her. He was her true other half, an irreplaceable part of her, as she was of him.

She'd never wanted to bother with a relationship before, but being with Jak was different. Whenever he was around, she felt as if she could climb the highest mountain, or swim the deepest ocean. She belonged with him.

And there was nothing anyone could say or do that would make her change her mind.


End file.
